Des Moines Residents Can ‘Peel The Love’ July 25-Aug. 4

The world’s largest banana provider is giving Des Moines residents the chance to do something unique this summer: Peel the love.

Des Moines is one of eight cities selected for the first-ever Peel the Love Summer Food Truck Tour a 4,800 mile, 102-day journey organized by Dole Bananas to bring new summer recipes, serving suggestions and free samples to consumers coast-to-coast. The pink-and-turquoise truck, created specifically for the tour, will make stops at supermarkets and other public and private venues and events throughout the Des Moines area including the National Ballroom Classic, the Iowa Speedway, after-school centers and nonprofit organizations.

Co-sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk and Dole Packaged Foods, the Peel the Love Summer Food Truck Tour kicked off in Seattle over Memorial Day Weekend and has scheduled stops in Sacramento, Calif.; Los Angeles; Phoenix; Houston; Des Moines, Iowa; Baltimore and Washington, D.C., before concluding in New York City on Labor Day.

Throughout the tour, Dole and Blue Diamond Almond Breeze are targeting health-, fitness- and lifestyle-oriented consumers and will partner with retailers to suggest new serving, pairing and entertaining options. Both brands also will reach out to registered dietitians, supermarket nutritionists, food bloggers and other influentials about the health, taste and convenience advantages of bananas, almonds and almondmilk.

The new recipes that will be available for sampling range from Banana Pineapple Coconut Smoothies and Thai Noodle Salad with Banana Peanut Dressing to Banana Pudding Pops, DOLE Banana S’mores, Dole Grilled Bananas and Chocolate Monkeys. Some combine DOLE Bananas with Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk.

The tour is part of the year-long Dole Bananas Peel the Love initiative showcasing new recipes and serving suggestions, as well as introducing new ways to reach out to the more than 600,000 Dole Banana, 800,000 Dole Packaged Foods and 122,000 Blue Diamond Almond Breeze social media fans.